HOA board of directors meetings must be recorded

Q: I have a few questions.

1. Are recorded minutes required for all homeowners association meetings, including the homeowner budget ratification meeting?

2. How long before a quarterly board meeting must the agenda be finalized? Could the agenda be updated, for example, three days before a meeting, so long as a preliminary agenda is distributed not less than 10 days before the meeting? From Nevada Revised Statute 116.31083, it appears no board action is permitted (except in emergency) on an item not on the agenda.

3. Our community manager emails that a website document has been added for meeting notification. Homeowners need to sign in to the community manager’s website to see the meeting time, place and agenda. Is this considered adequate notification?

A: Let me answer your questions in order.

1. Only the board of directors meetings are required to be recorded per NRS 116.31083 (8).

2. Under the law, NRS 116.31083 (2), associations must notify homeowners of their board meetings not less than 10 days before the date of the meeting. Under subsection 5 of this law, to be included with the notice of the meeting is a copy of the agenda and the locations where copies of the agenda may be conveniently obtained by the homeowners. There is no specific law that states when the agendas have to be sent to the homeowners. Generally speaking, associations include their agendas with the notifications of their agenda.

Items placed for board action that were not included in the original agenda are emergency actions. Please note that under this law subsection 13, emergencies are defined as any occurrence of combination of occurrences that could not have been reasonably foreseen, or affects the health, welfare and safety of the residents, or requires the immediate attention of and possible action by the board and finally, makes it impracticable to comply with the previous subsections of this law Nos. 2, 3 or 6.

3. NRS 116.31068 (1) states that an association shall deliver any notice required under NRS Chapter to any mailing or electronic mail address that a unit owner designates. If a unit owner has not designated a mailing or electronic mail address, the association may deliver notices by hand delivery, U.S. mail, postage paid or commercially reasonable delivery service to the mailing address of each unit, any other method reasonably calculated to provide notice to the homeowner. (Please note the procedure for serving notice under this law does not apply to the foreclosure process per NRS 116.3116 to NRS 116.31168 inclusive or any other provision under NRS 116 that specifies the manner in which a notice must be given by an association).

Under subsection 2 of NRS 116.31068, the ineffectiveness of a good faith effort to deliver notice by an authorized means does not invalidate action taken at or without a meeting.

Because there appears to be no law to prevent the meeting notice on the community manager’s website, this method would be considered a means of adequate notification. The association needs to be cognizant that not every homeowner has a computer, and for those homeowners, the association would have to, most likely, mail the notification.

Barbara Holland, CPM, CMCA and IREM chapter president-elect, is an author, educator and expert witness on real estate issues pertaining to management and brokerage. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.